The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 394 Tea Ceremony
May of the third year of Ji De.

Woodblock printing was initially promoted due to competition from government officials and businessmen, and knowledge began to spread further.

As for foreign enemies, Li Heng had detained the envoy of the Uighurs earlier, but the Uighurs did not resort to war. Instead, the Uighur Khan sent his son Yehu to Chang'an in person to negotiate with the Tang Dynasty.

Yehu was respectful and took the initiative to propose that as long as the Tang Dynasty agreed to their two conditions, they would withdraw their troops from the Three Surrender Cities and continue to submit to the Tang Dynasty.

The first condition is to continue to expand the scale of mutual trade between the two sides.

The climate in the northern desert where the Uighurs lived was harsh and the conditions were difficult. They were very short of silk, porcelain and other products that the Tang Dynasty had.

Li Heng was originally interested in developing industry and commerce, so he had no objection to the Huihe's condition and only added one clause: equal trade.

The second condition was that they hoped that the Tang Dynasty would reward the Uighurs with something to reward them for helping the Tang Dynasty suppress the rebellion.

Li Heng had no objection to this. After all, others had really contributed, so it was not excessive to give them some money.

Li Heng basically agreed to the Huihe's conditions, and then handed the specific matters over to Feng Changqing to discuss.

When Li Heng came out of the Council of State Affairs after discussing the Uighur affairs, a eunuch came to report that Li Tengkong wanted to see him.

Li Ying hadn't seen Li Tengkong for a long time and met her immediately.

Li Tengkong brought a young man in his twenties.

The man had an average appearance, with his eyes, nose and mouth all squeezed in the middle as if they were trying to grab something. At first glance, he could even be said to be a bit ugly, but his manners were decent and he had the demeanor of a gentleman.

Li Ying knew that Li Tengkong must have had his own reasons for deliberately bringing this man into the palace, but he did not ask.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Li Heng, Li Tengkong took the initiative to introduce the man behind him, saying, "Your Majesty, this man's surname is Lu and his name is Yu. He was abandoned by his parents when he was a baby and was later adopted by the abbot of Longgai Temple..."

After listening to Li Tengkong's introduction, Li Ying knew that the man in front of him was Lu Yu, who was later known as the "Tea Saint".

Lu Yu has a close affinity with Buddhism, and Li Ying has been suppressing religion for some time. The purpose of Li Tengkong bringing Lu Yu here is self-evident.

Li Ying knew it well, but he didn't point it out. He just echoed, "He has a miserable life and is a pitiful man."

Li Tengkong said: "Your Majesty likes to drink tea, and this Lu Yu is proficient in the tea ceremony, so Tengkong specially brought him here to make tea for Your Majesty."

"Really?" Li Heng pretended to be surprised and said, "Then I'll try it."

With Li Ying's permission, Lu Yu went to the kitchen to make tea.

Not long after, Lu Yu brewed the tea. After it was checked by the people from the Shangshi Bureau, Lu Yu presented the tea to Li Heng.

Li Ying took a bite and found it delicious. He said, "Not bad, a rare delicacy. How did Mr. Lu make it?"

Lu Yu said, "Your Majesty, before the Wei and Jin Dynasties, tea was made by mixing tea leaves with rice slurry, and then adding onions, ginger, and orange peels for flavoring. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, pure tea appeared, which means less flavoring, but in my opinion, it still cannot be called a good drink. Therefore, I have revised it and conducted corresponding research on tea picking, tea making, and tea brewing. The tea I brewed today was also presented to Your Majesty by Master Tengkong before. The reason why it tastes different from the tea in the palace is because of the difference in brewing tea."

As Lu Yu spoke, he observed Li Heng's expression with his peripheral vision. Seeing that Li Heng did not look annoyed, he continued in detail: "When I make tea, I first boil water on the stove. The first time the water boils, I add salt to enhance the flavor. The second time the water boils, I scoop out a ladle of water, stir the water to form a vortex, and put the tea into the vortex. The third time the water boils, I pour the water I just scooped out back in to prevent the water from getting stale."

Li Ying smiled and said, "When brewing tea, you have to make it fresher while preventing the water from becoming too old. It's no wonder that it tastes so good. I drank your tea, so tell me what reward you want."

Lu Yu glanced at Li Tengkong and saw that Li Tengkong nodded at him. He plucked up his courage, knelt on the ground and said, "I dare to ask Your Majesty to have mercy and spare the life of Zen Master Zhiji. If I had not been adopted by Zen Master Zhiji, I would have turned to dust long ago."

Li Ying did not agree immediately, and asked, "What crime did this Zen Master Zhiji commit?"

Li Tengkong was afraid that Lu Yu would say something wrong, so he took over the conversation and said, "The government said that Master Zhiji was harboring a traitor. Tengkong asked someone to investigate. Master Zhiji only adopted the child of a soldier who was held hostage by the rebels. The child was only two years old. Master Zhiji took him in, just like he took in Lu Yu. He has absolutely no intention of treason. Your Majesty, please understand!"

Li Heng thought about it, asked Lu Yu to leave first, and then said to Li Tengkong: "Do you want me to spare only Master Zhiji, or spare all the people in the church?"

Li Tengkong quickly stood up and saluted, saying, "Tengkong dares to speculate that your majesty is cleaning up Buddhist temples and Taoist temples because he wants to eliminate rebellion and also wants to recover land and increase the labor force. Now that the policy has been implemented for nearly three years, the land and population that the various religions should have returned have almost been recovered, and the rebellion has been quelled. Tengkong believes that the cleansing of the various religions should also be over."

Li Heng looked at Li Tengkong and felt that everything was excessive and that he should really stop.

Just as Li Heng was about to speak, Li Tengkong said, "Not all Taoists use Taoism as a cover for their treachery. Your Majesty should not kill them all."

"Kill them all?" Li Ying sighed and smiled.

Li Heng did not kill these monks, but only took back their land, asked his disciples to return to secular life, and restricted them from using heavy metals to build divine bodies.

But in Li Tengkong's mouth, he still became a butcher who killed everyone without mercy.

Li Tengkong noticed Li Heng's mood change and said hurriedly: "Tengkong made a mistake in his words, please punish me, Your Majesty."

Li Ying said: "People who practice Taoism only worship the gods in their hearts, not the secular kings. I wonder how much Taoist Tengkong has achieved?"

Li Tengkong was startled and said, "If Your Majesty wants me to return to secular life, I am willing. I only hope that I will be the last person Your Majesty forces me to return to secular life."

Li Ying asked, "After returning to secular life, what will happen next?"

Li Tengkong said: "If Your Majesty does not abandon me, Tengkong is willing to serve Your Majesty."

In Li Tengkong's heart, she felt that Li Heng was just like other emperors, and all he thought about were matters between men and women, while she herself was both beautiful and talented.

Li Heng understood what Li Tengkong meant, so he stood up and walked to Li Tengkong. Li Tengkong closed his eyes and waited for Li Heng to take action.

But Li Heng did not make any move. Instead, he laughed and said, "Although Master Tengkong practices Taoism, what he is thinking about now should be the Buddhist saying 'If I don't go to hell, who will?'"

Li Heng turned around and sat down, saying, "I will listen to you. Tomorrow I will issue an order not to investigate the various religious temples for harboring traitors."

Li Tengkong was overjoyed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Li Ying said, "In the past three years, you have offered me tea every year. I thought you were thinking of our friendship, but I didn't expect that you wanted me to issue this decree. Now, you have got what you wanted. You don't have to do these flattering things anymore, and you don't have to see people you hate anymore."

Li Tengkong understood what Li Heng meant.

Li Ying was asking her to never serve him tea or see him again.

Li Tengkong did have such thoughts before, but for some reason, when she heard Li Ying say this, she did not feel happy, but a little disappointed.

She began to doubt that her willingness to serve Li Heng was not a desire to sacrifice herself, but a desire in her heart.

However, although Li Tengkong had this suspicion, he did not react.

Perhaps because of her practice of Taoism, she has a rather cold personality and is more rational in her thinking.

She felt that if Li Ying had not said this, she would probably not see Li Ying very often in the future. At that time, her feelings would fade to the point where she would rarely think of Li Ying. However, Li Ying's words made the emotion of "never seeing you again" linger in her heart.

Li Tengkong was stunned for a while, then calmly said, "Tengkong misunderstood your majesty and foolishly took advantage of his friendship with your majesty. Tengkong is guilty."

Li Ying said, "You do what you think is right. I don't blame you. Go away."

"Yes." Li Tengkong bowed to Li Ying, looked up at Li Ying, and slowly retreated.

Jiang Caiping, who was waiting outside the palace, saw Li Tengkong coming out in a daze, and thought that the matter had not been accomplished, so she asked anxiously: "Didn't His Majesty agree?" Li Tengkong said: "Agree to what?"

Jiang Caiping was slightly stunned and said, "Do you agree not to investigate the matter of each sect harboring traitors?"

Li Tengkong reacted and said, "I agree."

Jiang Caiping was overjoyed.

Lu Yu at the side said: "Master Zhiji is saved! Master Tengkong is really amazing, to be able to get His Majesty to agree to such an important matter."

After Jiang Caiping was happy, she became more curious about why Li Tengkong was so depressed, and asked: "Since His Majesty has agreed, why are you still so depressed? Could it be..."

Jiang Caiping lowered her voice and continued, "Your Majesty asked you to enter the palace to serve him?"

Li Tengkong shook his head, was stunned for a long time, and said: "Your Majesty is different from any previous monarch."

After saying that, he slowly walked away.

Jiang Caiping looked at Li Tengkong's leaving back with a puzzled look on her face.

Lu Yu chased after him and asked, "Master Tengkong, what exactly happened?"

Li Tengkong did not answer Lu Yu's question, but only said: "Mr. Lu is proficient in tea ceremony. If the tea industry can be strengthened, it will also be good for the tea tax of the Tang Dynasty. I hope Mr. Lu will do his best in the future."

Lu Yu said: "I like the tea ceremony, this is natural."

Li Tengkong nodded and returned to the Taoist temple.

After staying in the Taoist temple for one night, the next day, Li Tengkong saw the imperial decree that the court would no longer pursue the cases of various religions harboring rebels.

Li Tengkong tore off a notice from the corner and put it away, then packed up his things, left the capital, traveled around, and practiced medicine while traveling.

……

In June of the third year of Ji De, Zhuotong Well was put into use. At the same time, several salt fields were developed in Hebei and Qinghai.

As the output of salt increased, the price of salt dropped, and the imperial court's salt tax revenue also increased accordingly.

In July, Ma Lin, Li Sheng and Ge Luofeng negotiated, but the negotiations were fruitless and the Yaozhou dispute was shelved, but neither side took any military action.

In August, some powerful families in Lingnan plotted rebellion due to the imperial court's investigation of land ownership, and the imperial court put down the rebellion within a month.

In September, Yan Zhenqing in Youzhou obeyed Li Heng's orders and prepared to take the next step against the Khitan.

During the Tianbao period, the Khitan designed a relatively excellent system, which Li Heng called the dual-core system.

The people who shaped it were Yelu Neri, a powerful official of the Yaonian clan, and Dinian Zuli, the Khitan Khan, but its origin can be traced back to Ketuyu of the Yaonian clan.

The Tang Dynasty initially recognized the Daha clan as the Khitan royal family and granted them the surname Li. However, the Daha clan was sidelined by the Yaonian clan, but the two sides never fell out.

This situation continued until the Kaiyuan period.

During the Kaiyuan period, the Khitan official Ke Tuyu of the Yaonian clan led his people to pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty, but was "neglected" by Prime Minister Li Yuanhong.

So, after Ke Tuyu returned, he raised an army to rebel against the Tang Dynasty and killed the leader who was unwilling to rebel with him, Li Shaogu of the Daha clan.

However, although he overthrew the Daha clan, Tu Yu did not dare to become emperor himself, so he came up with a plan and supported Qu Lie of his own tribe, the Yaonian clan, as the leader and scapegoat.

Not everyone could take advantage of the Tang Dynasty's martial virtue during the Kaiyuan period, but Tu Yu and his puppet Qu Lie rebelled vigorously, but were defeated by Xin'an King Li Yi and Zhang Shougui successively.

Among them, An Lushan was a fierce general under Zhang Shougui when he fought against the Turks.

The Khitan war was going badly, and civil unrest ensued.

Ketuyu's deputy general Li Guo killed Ketuyu and Qulie and requested to surrender to the Tang Dynasty.

Li Longji agreed and made Li Guozhe the leader of the Khitan.

However, as soon as Li Guozhe returned, he was killed by Yelu Neri of the Yaonian clan.

After Yelu Neri killed Li Guozhe, he realized that he was in trouble and wanted to seek refuge with the Turks.

The Khitans were very skilled at jumping around. When they fell out with the Tang Dynasty, they would join the Turks, and when they fell out with the Turks, they would join the Tang Dynasty.

But this time, Yelu Neri miscalculated, because he didn't know that the Turks had been defeated by the Tang Dynasty at that time, and the new overlord of the Mobei steppe was the Uighurs.

As a new regime, the relationship between the Uighurs and the Tang Dynasty was in a honeymoon period. They did not dare to turn against the Tang Dynasty for the Khitan. Yelu Neri could only return in disgrace and admit his mistakes to the Tang Dynasty.

Li Longji accepted Yelu Neri's confession of mistake, rebuilt the Songmo Military Governor's Office, married his granddaughter there, and gave her the surname Li.

However, Yelu Neri did not accept it because he was not the Khitan Khan.

Yelu Neri was familiar with Ketuyu's tricks, and he also appointed another person from his tribe named Dinian Zuli as Khan.

Li Longji did not pay too much attention to this. Since the Khan was in the Dian group, the official position, granddaughter and bestowed surname were all given to the Dian group.

From then on, everyone in the Di Nian group changed his name to Li Huaixiu.

Li Huaixiu and Yelu Neri were not incompetent people. They worked together to establish the dual-core system of Khitan.

They all felt that a single core system, like that of the Daha clan, would make it easy for other tribes to seize power, so the two forces of the Yaonian clan should be allowed to lead the Khitan.

These two forces are the powerful ministers and the Khan.

The two of them redivided the Khitan into eight tribes. The powerful minister Yelu Neri was in charge of the Diela tribe, which was so powerful that it accounted for one-third of the Khitan's power. Li Huaixiu was in charge of the remaining seven tribes, and two government offices in the north and south were established to govern the seven tribes.

In this way, if a powerful official undermines the Khan, the Diela tribe will take action. If the Diela tribe encounters problems, the Khan can also help solve the problems of the Diela tribe.

This design is somewhat similar to the parallel system of counties and kingdoms.

Yelu Neri was a feudal prince, and Li Huaixiu was the emperor.

Li Huaixiu relied on Yelu Neri, a vassal king, to ensure that he would not be usurped by powerful officials. At the same time, his overall strength could suppress Yelu Neri.

Yelu Neri established his own independent country and only had to fulfill the duty of protecting the Khan.

This system was a huge improvement for the Khitan, who were once a fragmented group.

But for Li Ying, who knew history, he could see the fatal problem at a glance.

(End of this chapter)